Small businesses are helping employees become better managers -- of their own money.
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Some companies know they have to offer a complete package from the start.
"For a start-up enterprise," Ms. Rose says, "speed is everything."
From the outside looking in, the answer may seem surprising. When asked earlier this year to name the biggest problem facing their companies, the answer from a group of 3,530 small-business owners nationwide was not finding good employees, competition from overseas or even high taxes.
Their top concern, according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business and Wells Fargo, was the expense of being in business, and the entrepreneurs singled out those factors “that are difficult to control, such as health insurance, energy and inflation.”
The survey is conducted every four years, and the high cost of health care has been the No. 1 in the last five surveys.
“For four years, the economy provided a good, stable foundation for small-business owners to do business, but as it started to take a negative turn over the last several months, they felt the effects of rising costs of doing business,” said Bruce D. Phillips, senior fellow at the business federation’s Research Foundation and co-author of the report with Holly Wade, a policy analyst for the federation. “As the economic outcome remains uncertain, small-business owners are searching for innovative ways to reduce expenses and increase sales.”
FITNESS HITCH To understand why it is so difficult for a business owner to reduce health care costs, you need look no further than the current issue of Fortune Small Business.
Common sense says employees who are healthier and in better shape file fewer claims than those who are not, reducing the cost of their employer’s insurance.
And so, as the article by Mina Kimes titled “Lose Weight or Else” points out, a number of employers are offering incentives for their workers to improve their lifestyles.
For example, at one company profiled, employees receive “a $25-a-month discount on health insurance premiums and cash rewards of $160 a year” in exchange for going to the gym and stopping smoking.
The problem with that?
“Some wellness programs might violate the federal Americans With Disabilities Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,” Ms. Kimes writes. “For example, if an employee is physically unable to participate in a fitness program, is she being punished by having to pay the full insurance premium? And can workers be fired for continuing to smoke?”
WHEN INFLATION IS GOOD The Small Business Administration has increased its revenue-based size standards by nearly 9 percent to account for the inflation that has occurred since 2005.
The standards are used to determine if a business is small for its industry and therefore qualifies for government small-business programs.
Under the inflation-adjusted size standards, retailers with up to $7 million in annual revenue, for example, will be considered small businesses, according to Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology. For computer systems design services, the new small-business threshold is $25 million in annual revenue.
ENERGY VAMPIRES There is one simple if annoying way to reduce your company’s energy costs: simply unplug office machines when they are not in use (like when you go home for the day).
Turning the devices off is not enough because they will continue to function to some degree. (The clock on the microwave in the company kitchen is still on.)
Good magazine reports that companies could save the following sums annually by unplugging each of these devices:
Computer: $34.21
Laptop: $15.90
Laser Printer: $12.43
LCD Monitor: $2.51
LAST CALL It seems like only yesterday, but as Entrepreneur notes, it was 40 years ago that Robert Propst, head of research at the office furniture maker Herman Miller, invented the cubicle that made possible both Scott Adams’s “Dilbert” comic strip and the cult classic movie “Office Space.”
Oh, for those of you who were wondering, the magazine writes that by 2006 “cubicles were estimated to account for the lion’s share of office furniture sales — about $3 billion a year.”
What does it take to survive and prosper in a difficult, even hostile, marketing environment? Take a clue from nature, where success comes down to survival of the fittest. The most prolific creatures on the planet must be adaptable, rugged, aggressive and attractive to conquer all. Now, more than ever, these essential qualities are the prerequisites for staying ahead in a competitive, or depressed, marketplace. Apply these four survival strategies to your own marketing programs.
Adapt to Change
The changes in the marketplace and economy are affecting consumer behavior and attitudes nationwide. Products that were once considered everyday purchases may now be considered luxuries, even by affluent consumers. Organic foods, for example, were always priced higher than regular fare, but now as prices on many other foods have risen and put the squeeze on consumer pocketbooks, some consumers say they are less willing to pay top dollar for the healthier organics.
How have marketplace changes affected your customers' attitudes toward what you sell? If you're unsure, use meetings, phone calls, surveys or informal roundtable discussions with customers to get inside their heads. Your survival may depend on your ability to adapt your marketing messages immediately to fit customers' newly minted mind-set.
Win Marks for Toughness
Companies with real staying power become entrenched in the minds of their customers. They use ongoing marketing programs with consistent themes to strengthen relationships and become part of their customers' lives. Now is the time for rugged dependability, and that means sticking to a marketing course that involves clear and frequent communication. So stop marketing in fits and starts, and de-clutter your campaign by focusing on a consistent core message.
Imagine your customer and prospect database displayed over a bull's-eye, with the best customers and hottest prospects closest to the center and all others in concentric circles farther and farther out. If you're on a limited budget, focus the greatest percentage of your marketing dollars on maintaining a strong campaign with those closest to the bull's-eye, and fewer dollars on prospects and customers of lesser financial value to your business. Your company will remain stronger during this recession and come through it in a better position if you can tough it out by staying top of mind with your best customers.
Be Strategically Aggressive
The current marketing environment mandates a more aggressive stance. With consumers and B2B purchasers focused on price, you need a strategy that draws customers in and adds to your bottom line without giving too much away. You can increase couponing, special promotions or customer reward campaigns, depending on your type of business.
To beat your competition in this new environment, assess their programs. If you haven't conducted a competitive analysis in a while, take time today to gather advertising materials from your principal competitors. What are their key selling messages and promotions? Which media do they use to reach their core audiences? Resist the temptation to slash prices across the board and instead look for ways to offer additional value with competitive pricing. And undertake a more aggressive campaign in the media your principal competitors use to reach customers.
It Pays to Look Good
In nature, many male birds compete for mates with beautiful displays, dances and songs. Like them, it doesn't hurt to do a song and dance to stand out from the crowd during these months when many buyers are cutting back on purchases. It's never been more important to have polished, professional materials. Business-to-business buyers and consumers alike want to feel they're making safe purchases, particularly for bigger-ticket items. They also want to know that the companies from which they choose to buy will support them post-sale.
Update and streamline your website to contain deep content and provide customer service. Review all of your sales tools and marketing materials for outdated content and graphics, and bring them up-to-date. Looking successful will help bring greater success your way.
Kim T. Gordon is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson. Over the past 26 years, she's helped millions of small-business owners increase their success through her company, National Marketing Federation Inc. Her latest book, Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars, is now available.In last month's article I began an explanation of an "A.S.A.P." formula for cost-effective small business branding. A.S.A.P. is both an acronym and an adjective: Not only does each letter stand for a key component in your branding platform (e.g., "A" = "Advantage"), but also it refers to the speed and efficiency with which you can successfully gain brand traction using these simple guidelines.
The A.S.A.P. branding model:
A = Advantage (Content of your Message)
S = Style (Style of your Message)
A = Adjective (Verbal Cue to your Message)
P = PMS Color (Visual Cue to your Message)
I discussed "advantage" in last month's article, so now I'll expand on "style."
What's Your Style?
This second step involves determining the right image for your company. A professional image is critical to your success. After all, your image--as reflected in the design and copywriting style of your business cards, marketing materials and website--is the first and sometimes only chance you have to introduce your company to potential customers.
So how do you select the right image for your company? Are you progressive? Innovative? Reliable? Your image should reflect your brand's personality and account for industry norms, your customers' expectations and the defining attributes of your products and services. As with your "advantage" (see last month's article), it's best to keep it simple.
For years I've maintained that there are basically three broad image categories: flair, bold, and high-tech.
Flair
This is for brands that want to project creativity, flexibility and friendliness. Many retail establishments and companies in the service industry fall into this category. Promotional materials should be creative and unique, featuring such design elements as curving lines and warm photography or illustrations.
Bold
A bold image projects experience, strength and stability. For obvious reasons, virtually all banks fall into this image category. To reflect a bold image, marketing materials should be conservative in tone and design, never trendy or surprising. Straightforward, easy-to-read fonts such as Helvetica and Times, and lots of white space work well for this style.
High-Tech
Not surprisingly, this image projects innovation and technological expertise. Promotional materials should be exciting and dynamic. Designs might incorporate italicized fonts, bold graphics and energetic photography.
Most likely your brand personality includes some attributes of one image category and some of another. However, you should have more of one category's qualities than the others. (If you don't, ask yourself if you are trying to be all things to all people.) It's important that you choose only one style for your brand. Your customers need to file your brand in their minds into just one style so they can retrieve it quickly and easily.
Choosing a style is critical to your branding efforts whether you plan to outsource the design of your materials or do it yourself. Professional designers rely on the adjectives you use to describe your brand when selecting design elements for your piece. Additionally, copywriters take your image into account when they choose a tone for your piece. If you are acting as your own copywriter, it's important that the style of your writing (tone) complements the design style of your piece. In other words, the copy and the design of your materials should match, and both are based off the brand image you choose to project.
Once you've got the content and style of your message down, it's time to address the second "A" in the A.S.A.P. model, "Adjective," which we'll look at next month.
John Williams is founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.With a credit crunch and many banks tightening up or eliminating lines of credit, it's important for business owners to maintain a steady cash flow. Here are five ways experts say you can start the process:
With a credit crunch and many banks tightening up or eliminating lines of credit, it's important for business owners to maintain a steady cash flow. Here are five ways experts say you can start the process:
